1 Corinthians 3:9 “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.”
One of the greatest lacks in churches today are laborers. This is why we are challenged to pray to the “Lord of the harvest” in Matthew 9:38 to “send forth labourers into his harvest.” The need for laborers is great. One of my daily prayers is that God would send me laborers in my harvest here in Oklahoma City. I could immediately use one hundred laborers to help reach my city of over 1.4 million souls if I just had laborers. The problem is never a harvest problem, but the problem has always been a lack of laborers.
However, a great hindrance to reaching the harvest is when the laborers you have don't labor together. We are reminded in the verse above that “we are labourers together with God.” God’s intent for His children is that they would work together with Him to reach the harvest and fill His church. Sadly, many things cause the laborers that we do have to work apart. Let me share four things that cause laborers to work apart.
First, personality-driven believers cause laborers to work apart. Part of the problem with the church in Corinth was that they fought over who they served. You are supposed to be serving Christ. Yes, God uses men, but when you make man your focus, you will find yourself working apart in the harvest. The harvest is too great to allow strife and division over personalities to divide us so that we can't reach our harvest.
Second, credit-driven believers cause laborers to work apart. Not only was the church of Corinth squabbling over who they followed, but they were fighting over who got the credit for the souls that were saved. My friend, everyone wins when you realize that everyone is working together to reach the harvest. Yes, it should excite you that you are leading people to Christ, but likely someone has already talked to that person about the Lord for their heart to be ready to get saved. Keeping the mindset that everyone wins when one soul gets saved will help the church to reach their harvest better.
Third, flesh-driven believers cause laborers to work apart. Any time you get believers working in the flesh, you will always find them fighting over petty issues. You are supposed to be working with Christ and not with your flesh. Working in the flesh always causes you to focus on petty issues that don't matter to truth or in reaching the lost for Christ. One of the great reasons you need to be yielded to the Spirit is so that your flesh doesn't get you focused on petty issues that don't matter to God.
Fourth, immediate-reward-driven believers cause laborers to work apart. When you care more for getting your rewards in Heaven than you do with getting your rewards on earth is when it won’t matter if you get the credit for what God has done through you. When you realize there is a judgment seat where the believer will be rewarded for labors for Christ, you will not care whether you get accolades on earth for what you have done.
My friend, the harvest is too great for believers to work apart. The more we work together as believers in each local church, the more we can do to reach our harvest for Christ. You can quickly dispel the things that cause laborers to work apart if you will let the Holy Spirit lead you.